Typhoon leaves 28 dead in China, 20 still missing

A powerful typhoon left at least 28 people dead in southeastern China, after a landslide backed up a river that broke through debris and inundated homes, state media reported.

Another 20 people remained missing in Zhejiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Typhoon Lekima made landfall at 1.45 a.m. Saturday in Wenling city, about 300 kilometres south of Shanghai, the China Meteorological Administration said.

Residential buildings and fields are submerged in floodwater after heavy rains caused by Typhoon Lekima in eastern China. (AP)Streets were inundated by heavy rain in eastern China. (AP)

The deaths occurred in Yongjia county on the outskirts of Wenzhou, a major port city. The river blocked by a landslide rose to a level of 10 metres within 10 minutes, trapping 120 villagers, Xinhua said.

More than 1 million people were evacuated before the storm struck, including 253,000 in Shanghai.

Shanghai Disneyland was closed, as were some popular tourist areas along the riverfront in the city's historic Bund district.

Rescuers battle to dig out landslide victims after the typhoon struck. (AP)

"Of course, it's a little disappointing, but it's because of the weather so we can all understand, right. This is a natural disaster, isn't it?" said Wang Chunguang, who was visiting from Jiangsu province north of Shanghai.

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CCTV said 3,023 airline flights in Shanghai, Hangzhou and other cities and some train services were cancelled. Authorities in Shanghai also shut down the high-speed magnetic levitation train to Pudong International Airport.

Lekima, downgraded to a tropical storm, was heading slowly northward along China's east coast on Sunday morning.